We're Not In Townsville Anymore
by Kirikitsune
Summary: When the girls got older, and Townsville could be entrusted to the other superhero inhabitants, Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup decided to spend some time in a new city where nobody knew who they were. Or so they thought. But suddenly a certain trio from their childhood shakes up their average lives. PPG x RRB (original pairings). May include shameless ship fluff. Rated M for safety
1. Chapter 1-Study Hall

As a disclaimer - I don't own the PPG or any of their characters.

Feel free to review - as I like to know what you think and reviews help me improve my story.

Enjoy the first chapter!

* * *

"…Blossom. BLOSSOM." The redhead looking out the window snapped out of her daze and quickly swung her head toward the voice that was speaking to her. An agitated brunette stood before her, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"I've been talking to you for a solid two minutes. Have you even heard a single word I've said?" Blossom fixated her pink eyes on the textbook in front of her and made a guess at what she had missed.

"Uhm, it was something about the test on Friday, right?" The brunette rolled her eyes so heavily that Blossom thought they would roll right out of her head. She realized that this was the incorrect answer and sighed before speaking again.

"I'm sorry Tara! It's just that I've been a bit…distracted lately." Tara pouted for a minute, but then tossed a smile at Blossom. She shrugged her shoulders and continued with the story that she had been telling the daydreaming girl before. Something about the upcoming social event, some party something-or-other, but that wasn't really Blossom's scene, and she didn't really care. So she just grinned and nodded accordingly at the girl.

"So you'll come?" Tara finished, gazing at her expectantly. She shook her head.

"I've got some studying to do…" She spoke quietly, knowing that she was blowing off a chance to make friends, again. She was the student body president, and yet she had managed to alienate herself from most all of the student body. Tara maintained her smile but shook her head.

"I swear brainiac, if you don't ace this test, I'm taking you partying, and you can't say no." Blossom giggled slightly as Tara walked away, knowing that she would, in fact, ace the test. She always did, because she was incredibly intelligent. She opened her textbook to the study material and continued to study anyway, retaining every bit of knowledge she picked up.

* * *

"Hey Tarrrraaa!" Tara smiled as the girl sat on the edge of her desk. She was adorned in her cheerleading uniform, a black cheer dress decorated with maroon outlining and a peppy hair bow with a matching pattern, as was custom on days that their school had a football game.

"Hey Bubbles, what's up?" Bubbles grinned at her and tipped her head to one side, her blonde ponytail going with the sway.

"So, I heard you're having a party? And well, Jake and I are looking for somewhere to go after the football game. I mean, that is, unless you don't want to invite us?" Bubbles practically sang every syllable of her sentence. Tara shook her head rapidly.

"Of course you two are invited! You're like, the most popular people in school. I figured it was just a given!" The two girls smiled at each other, onlookers enraptured by their combined beauty. They gabbed about the random goings on of their high school until a masculine voice erupted from the classroom door.

"Hey, is mi novia here?" The boy that walked in was the quarterback of the school's football team, senior Jake Martinez. The peppy blonde cheerleader let out a small squeal as her sparkly red shoes hit the floor and she flounced over to her boyfriend.

"J Bear!" She said, jumping up and wrapping her arms around his neck. He returned the hug and grinned at her before speaking.

"I came to give you my jersey. Y'know, for luck." He pulled the jersey out of his bag as she released him, and dropped it on her head. As Bubbles pulled the jersey off of her head and out of her eyes, she saw that Jake was already on his way out the door.

"Love you!" She exclaimed, clutching the jersey. He didn't even turn his head when he responded,

"Yeah…you too babe."

* * *

"Okay everybody, study period is now over. Be safe on your way home." The teacher currently advising the study hall period spoke. This one was one of the older ones, with the very obvious wear-and-tear of her years of teaching. Blossom wondered if that was how she would look when she was older. Grey and sad. A voice brought her to her current reality once more.

"Hey Blossom…I have cheer practice for about an hour today, so go on and go home alone. I'll get a ride home afterward, okay?" Bubbles spoke to her sister, bag strung over her shoulder and her pompoms resting on top of it. The redhead smiled softly at her sister and nodded.

"Sure thing Bubbles. Have fun at practice." With that, the peppy blonde ran off toward her waiting friends, ready to give it her all, as usual. Blossom exhaled deeply, momentarily envying her social butterfly of a sister. She shook her head, trying to forget the negative feeling that she was currently exerting, and gathered her books. She nearly dropped them on the floor as her cellphone vibrated in the pocket of her acid-washed jeans. Finishing putting the books in her bag, she pulled her phone out and swiped the screen to read the message that had just come through.

 _"Hey Red. The jerk vice principal gave me detention. I'll c u the game?"_

Blossom sighed when she read the text from her sister. Going to the football game had not been her plan for that evening. Nevertheless, she had to make sure her sister got a safe ride home after her detention, so she quickly replied _"Sure."_ , and headed toward her car.

* * *

Okay, that's all for this chapter. Sorry it's so short! Please review~!


	2. Chapter 2-Black and Blue

Hey everybody, I promise that at the least this chapter will be more satisfying than the first, which isn't honestly saying much. But I hope you enjoy this chapter, please read and review. Anon reviews are as welcome as penned ones, and you can PM me if you like.

Disclaimer- I obviously don't own the PPG or any of their characters. Most side characters are organic, but if you're wondering about it, somebody else probably owns them.

* * *

"Alright alright I'm going!" The raven-haired girl grunted at the security guard shepherding her into the classroom for detention. He let go of her shoulders and crossed his arms expectantly, making sure she actually went into the room and didn't duck out as soon as he turned his back. She sighed and pushed open the door, craning her head slightly to speak to him as she entered.

"It's a shame you don't trust this school's students to make good decisions. A real crying shame." She feigned dejection as she walked in, but was quickly put out by a familiar voice.

"Good decisions? Buttercup, you're in detention. Take your seat." The offender put up her hands halfway in surrender and backed up to an open desk, making sure to keep a distance from both the supervising teacher and her friends who were sitting at the back. As she sat down and put her head on the cool top of the desk, she used her hearing to listen to the conversation happening at the back of the room, as they hadn't noticed her walk in.

"Dude I don't know why but she just stopped answering my calls a few days ago. I think she's mad or something." Buttercup recognized the voice as Isaac, and kept listening.

"Loser, Lexi dumped you last week. Stop calling her." This voice was her best friend, Alex, the apparent voice of reason.

"She…dumped me? Why would she do that?" Isaac's confused monotone turned into a forlorn whine as he received the news from his friend.

"Because you're a hopeless stoner and fucking idiot." He replied unapologetically. This solicited another whine from Isaac, but he quickly changed his tune as he noticed the girl sitting in the front with her head on her desk.

"Hey dude, is that Buttercup? Her hair grew out from last term. Hey and what's up with her and her sisters' names anyway?" At this, Buttercup lifted her head from the desk and spoke up to the boys.

"Our dad is just kind of weird." They looked directly at her, and Alex smirked and waved her over. Since she had sat down the supervisor had fallen asleep, so she got up and walked over to them, taking a seat next to Isaac.

"Woah dude, you've got some killer hearing. Any other special talents?" The boy next to her said, grinning like the idiot he was.

*"Yeah, I can curl my tongue too." She spoke proudly. The boys both laughed at this, and she pseudo-pouted.

"You look good Buttercup." Isaac said lazily. Alex responded to this by hitting the back of his head, to which Isaac responded by resuming his previous whining and muttering under his breath about the loss of Lexi and the abandonment of his friends.

"Yeah, you almost look like a girl." Alex spoke, making the green-eyed girl glare at him. The right side of his mouth tweaked upward into a half-grin, and he laughed lightly. She scowled at the jab and mumbled that he was an idiot before redirecting her attention to the other present male.

"Hey. So you and Lexi broke up. But wasn't she a bitch anyway? You can pull another chick. Like that girl Carly you smoke with." Isaac took a minute, but brightened up after her statement.

"Girl with purple hair? Yeah…yeah she's cool." He spoke, looking out the window and most likely daydreaming about his potential next girlfriend. Buttercup rolled her eyes at how easy he was to persuade and caught a glance from Alex.

"What?" She asked roughly, not expecting the attention. He shook his head and started playing with his phone, to which she rolled her eyes again. She wondered why she was friends with such losers, but she didn't really care to associate with anyone else. These guys shared some interests with her, like playing videogames and skateboarding, and they weren't even phased by the fact that she didn't care to act like her sisters; all girly and fluffy. She was mostly spice, and she liked it that way.

"So why're you in detention? Not usually your scene." Her friend asked offhandedly. She shifted her gaze to her sneakers.

"I got in a fight. Vice Principal Smith happened to walk by. Bad timing." Alex looked up from his phone to see Buttercup staring at the ground. He ran a hand through his brunette pompadour and slid his cell into his book bag.

"That's unusual. I don't think I've ever seen you ashamed about a fight. What, did you lose?" She slammed a hand down on the desk and looked him straight in the face.

"I don't lose fights." She growled at him. Then, realizing that she had caused the teacher to stir slightly and Isaac to cast a confused glance at her, she lowered her voice and looked down slightly, making sure to allow herself to still be heard. "I didn't lose, okay? My sister's just gonna grill me about this and I don't like when things get all tense with her, ya know?" The boy looked at her and waited for a continuation of her explanation, but when he didn't get one he continued speaking.

"So who did you fight?" He persisted.

"A douchebag from the football team." She dodged his question extremely apparently, and he picked up on it. He laughed slightly as he sarcastically spoke,

"Oh, that narrows it down. Which one?" She shook her head and toyed with the strings of her sweatshirt.

"Nobody worth mentioning."

* * *

"We are the best, the best. We'll beat you no contest!" The cheerleaders threw out a few generic cheers and danced around in front of the football field, riling up the crowd of high-schoolers. Bubbles grinned ear to ear as she was lifted into the air, struck a pose, shouted "Go East Ridge!" The crowd roared as the cheerleaders set the flyers down and ran out of view, pom-poms flailing about. Bubbles waited at the sideline to give Jake a hug, but as the players ran onto the field, she noticed that he wasn't with them. Worried, she walked toward the locker rooms and called into the building.

"Jake?" Her voice echoed slightly against the walls, and the response was quick.

"Yeah. It's just me, come on in." He spoke quietly, but the reverberation made his voice very clear, and the peppy blonde walked into the locker room to see her boyfriend sitting on a bench and resting his leg next to him, making about a 90 degree angle with his body. She looked at him and realized that he had a slight bruise on his face, and when she went to hug him he cringed in pain and pushed her away.

"You're hurt…what happened?" She asked, worried. He sighed and glanced at her, and she sat down next to his outstretched leg as if he had spoken a command. He was clearly pausing, contemplating what he was going to say next and Bubbles was incredibly concerned that something was wrong. She looked at him, eyes cast slightly upward in her signature caring pout, but she wasn't expecting what was said next.

"Look…this, us. This isn't working. I'm breaking up with you. Jake spoke, looking at her unapologetically. Her eyes widened and she adopted the look of a deer caught in the headlights of a semi-truck.

"Breaking….up…" She parroted. Tears formed in her eyes and she shook her head lightly.

"B-but…why?" She managed to stutter. He sighed again and shifted a sack of ice on his leg.

"I have to focus on football. I got accepted to a college on an athletic scholarship. I don't have time for you, and I don't really want to make time." The words stung the girl, and she suddenly wished she could have her former boyfriend's injuries instead of the emotional pain she was currently faced with. The tears rolled out of her eyes and down her face, and she got up and ran out of the locker room, leaving behind a large part of the time she had spent since the girls had moved to this city. She found a vending machine and slid down its surface, sitting on the ground against it and sobbing quietly. She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in them, tears staining her pleated cheer skirt.

A shadow fell over her as she cried, but she took no notice until a voice spoke to her.

"Uh…hey. You're blocking the vending machine." The boy said awkwardly, trying to access his favorite treat in the machine. When he noticed that the girl was crying, he quickly spoke again.

"Oh, woah. What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He started to worry about the girl in front of him, and rubbed the back of his neck with his right hand, swaying slightly as he tried to make out a few words of the girl's fragmented sentence.

"He…b-broke up…w-w-with mee. Jake broke up with me!" She sobbed, becoming slightly more coherent as she continued speaking.

He considered walking away. Another girl crying about a boy who had broken her heart. This was more a job for his womanizer brother. Brothers. But he didn't have it in him to leave a crying girl by herself.

"Aw man." He mumbled before addressing her. "Alright, so this Jake guy. I'm guessing that you guys were together a while, am I right?" He asked, already knowing the answer. No girl cried this much for a guy she didn't think she loved. Her sobbing increased once more and he took that as the answer.

"Right. Okay. So this guy he really broke your heart. But you know what? He isn't worth it. Any guy that makes a girl who is as great as I'm sure you are cry isn't worth your tears. Or the time of day." Her crying lightened slightly and he grinned at his success.

"Okay, come on. You really are blocking the vending machine. Let's get you up." The boy extended a hand to the girl on the ground, and she lifted her head slightly and lightly placed her hand in his. He pulled her up with a force that surprised her. She wiped away tears with her arm and looked into the face of the unknown supporter, who was looking directly at her with a mass amount of surprise on his face. It was as though she was looking into a gender-swapping mirror of herself, and she ceased crying completely in shock.

"…Boomer?"

* * *

The blonde looked at his doppelganger with growing unease. He wondered how he always managed to place himself in questionable positions in which he would most likely get his ass handed to him on a plate. He backed up slightly.

"Sorry about your boyfriend." He spoke, turning away from her and preparing to flee. One of her hands grabbed his arms, and he braced for the impact of an eye-beam or a fist to the face, but was kindly greeted by a feeble voice that captivated him with a few simple, surprising words.

"It's good to see you."

He turned to her, small arm clutching his shirt sleeve, the other one still wiping stray tears from her baby-blue eyes. The blonde hair she used to pull into pigtails when they were kids was now pulled into one, long ponytail. She was wearing a cheerleading uniform in the school's colors, which didn't surprise him at all, considering her personality. Her charisma and pure happiness was her most attractive trait, it always had been. And yet there was a look of such sadness on her face.

But to counteract the sadness, there was this glisten in her eyes of genuine relief at his presence. Which he hadn't expected from anyone. She noticed him examining her and remembered why she got up in the first place. She let go of his sleeve and finished off the tears on her face with a sniff.

"Ah…uhm…the vending machine. What were you getting?" He shook his head, forgetting what he had wanted before due to the startlingly pleasant reunion.

"Doesn't matter." His voice was firm, but he tried to keep it gentle as he pulled her into a soft hug. He held her lightly, one hand between her shoulder blades and the other around her waist. His arms almost hovered due to his grip being so loose around her. He wasn't like his brothers, and he was afraid that if he held her too tight he would break her – shatter the moment that they were sharing. At first, he was afraid that he had made the wrong move to share this affection with her, and she didn't move an inch. But after a while he felt her reach up and stretch her arms around his back, returning the gesture. For a while, they stayed there in a quiet, comfortable little union.

But all good things must come to an end, and so did that sweet little moment.

"Oh you have GOT to be fucking kidding me."

* * *

Okay! So still not the longest that it probably could have been, but I wanted to get something released.

Who was so incredulous at the unexpectedly touching reunion of the Blues? Why would I leave you with a cliffhanger? I suppose we'll find out in the next chapter of WNITA!

So what do you think, reader? Leave me a review so I know! Your voice is important.

*If you don't get this reference go watch a few episodes of PPG right now.


	3. Chapter 3-Road Trip

Hi guys! Thank you for reading and I really appreciate the reviews, so much so that I'm going to add a little response section (there aren't that many so it's not too bad).

 **Anon** \- I really liked that theory. I almost made it go in that direction but I decided to go further into the reason that Jake got his butt kicked in the first place. (He really is a jerk no worries he deserved it.) Although I still haven't fully covered it, there will be more Jake drama in the future. Promise. :*

 **Kitkat** \- That means so much to me, thank you! I'm really glad you like it so far and I hope I don't disappoint you with future updates. (They will definitely keep coming.) Please keep reading and reviewing! Xo

Disclaimer- I don't own PPG or any of their characters, or else I'd be rich. This chapter contains original content, but none of my own characters.

Enjoy!

* * *

"Take your filthy mitts off of her or someone's getting hurt, and it's not gonna be me."

At this, Boomer released his abnormally light grip on the girl in front of him, softly pushing her away from their awkward embrace. He put both of his arms up and interlocked his fingers with his palms touching the back of his head in surrender.

"Okay, but my mitts aren't filthy…they're clean. I swear." There was a scoff at this innocent remark, and it was quickly followed up by a mumbled growling of frustrated words.

"I swear Bubbles, it is guy after hopeless guy with you. You never learn, and who's stuck with janitorial duty? Me. I just took care of this guy and here he is again with this bull-" The rambling was stopped mid-sentence by Boomer turning around to face his verbal attacker, lights from the stadium illuminating his face. In turn, the other blonde made sure to poke a confused face around the tall boy, tilting her head to the side and preparing to speak.

"Uhm, Buttercup…" Bubbles started, but quickly cast her gaze downward and clutched her companion's jacket with a frail paw as her sister's anger turned into a seething rage.

"…Boomer? Really? What are you doing here? More importantly, what were you doing with your arms around my sister?" She examined the scene, wondering why as of yet her sister had failed to move away from the obvious danger that had presented itself directly in front of her. She was a bit surprised at the appearance of the more dim-witted member of their rival trio. He looked less idiotic than he did when they were children, his blonde hair was more updated and resembled that of most teenage boys at East Ridge. He had grown; they all had, it was just more impactful to be presented with such a change in someone from their past.

"Uh…ya see, well, Brick…" Boomer searched for words as the girl bristled, obviously prepping for a fight. Luckily for him, his salvation came in the form of a weak voice speaking up behind him as Bubbles walked up to stand next to him.

"What did you mean…about 'taking care' of…Jake?"

* * *

She took the keys out of the ignition, holding them with the key ring slid onto her index finger and her hand wrapped securely around them. Getting out of the car, she carefully shut the door and let the keys jingle in her hand as she did so.

"What a pain." She spoke, sighing. As she made her way across the parking lot she rubbed her temple and wondered why her sister was so hard-headed. She never did anything without just cause, but she also never thought out the consequences of her actions, and even she knew it. They were so similar in chemical makeup and composition, so with her entirely logical train of thought, Blossom just couldn't understand why her sisters were so utterly different from her. While she pondered the reasoning behind this, her cellphone vibrated rhythmically in her handbag. She opened it and made the switch of her keys for the ringing phone, and looked to see who was calling her.

The screen flashed "Professor" and she quickly answered.

"Hello, Pro-…Dad. What is it?"

"Blossom, good! I was afraid that you wouldn't answer." Blossom was happy to hear the professor's upbeat baritone, and smiled slightly, even though she knew for him to call on a Friday night there had to be some reason behind it.

"Why wouldn't I answer the phone? Isn't that the purpose of a phone?" She asked him quizzically.

"Well, yes, but…Buttercup, and…" Her father stammered his explanation, but the brainy redhead understood immediately what he meant. Her sister frequently dodged his calls because she thought that her lifestyle was disappointing to him. What she didn't understand is that when she neglected him she was hurting him more.

"Right. Well, why did you call? Is there trouble?" There was a pause on the Professor's end, and she stopped walking to listen to his next words.

"You girls should come see me at home. There are some important matters we need to discuss. It's actually rather urgent." His voice strained slightly on the word 'urgent', as though he was afraid to speak of the urgency to his daughter.

"Roger that. But what does this concern?" She swept a few strands of hair off of her face and back into their proper position in her neat array of orange locks.

"About that – it's…the Rowdyruff Boys."

* * *

"Bubbles c'mon!" Buttercup yelled to her sister, who was currently huffing toward the parking lot, dragging an unwitting Boomer along with her.

"I can't believe you! I'm finally happy with someone and you have to go and ruin it! That's just like you!" She screamed back at her sister, frustrated tears once again streaking her face. Boomer rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, feeling extremely uncomfortable in the midst of the sisterly battle, as he thought he got enough of argument listening to his brothers go at it.

"Oh okay, well maybe I wouldn't have had to 'ruin' all your relationships if you weren't such a naïve baby and realized that they were all scumbags!" At this, the not-so-peppy blonde stopped dead in her tracks, her companion nearly crashing into her as she turned on heel to face her ornery sister.

"I'd rather that then have everyone be so scared of me that I've turned into a social outcast who has nothing better to do than sit and pout and hang out with other temperamental misfits!" At this outburst, Bubbles brought both of her hands up to lightly cover her mouth, instantly apologetic. At first, Buttercup was just shocked, but her shock quickly turned to anger, and she pulled the hood of her hoodie up around her black bob and began to walk, moving straight past her now stammering sister to make her own way toward the parking lot.

"B-Buttercup…" She tried, to no avail. Although only moments later, the angry hooded girl was halted by another frustrated presence.

"Oh good, you're both here." Blossom spoke, surveying the scene before continuing. "Make that all three of you. Boomer, where are your brothers?" All three of them glanced at the newest member of the situation, but only one spoke.

"We came together, so I guess they're around here somewhere." She let out an exasperated sigh at the blonde boy's response, and quickly barked out a command, of course in the most ladylike of ways.

"You have a phone. Call them." There was no attempt at masking her unease at his presence, and he picked up on it, but she had to make it clear that she was serious. She didn't have any time for games.

"Uh...yeah." Boomer reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell, but as soon as he did there was a streak of green light to the ground.

"Yeah yeah, no need for that." A raspy voice spoke, and then continued with, "Well well well, looking good Blondie. And Red, wowza-". His gawking was cut off by a sharp slug to the abdomen. He coughed and let out a pained groan, clutching his stomach.

"Don't call her that, pig." Buttercup grit her teeth as she spoke to her duplicate, who in turn looked up at her with a half-mouthed smirk.

"You're so sexy when you're mad." She scoffed at him, not allowing him any more of a response. Blossom rolled her eyes before calling attention once more.

"As lovely as this all is – the Professor wants us all back in Townsville, ASAP. Now where's Brick?"

"Our fearless leader has returned home ahead of us, and says he'll meet us when we get there." The sarcasm basically dripped out of Butch's mouth as he got up and spoke the beginning of the simple sentence, and the more innocent two of the group couldn't help but wonder how he didn't choke on all of it. Meanwhile, Blossom examined the obvious tension amidst the group, but not between the girls and their rivals; instead it was between her two sisters.

"I call shot!" Butch yelled, making his way to the front of the group to walk to the car with Blossom.

"No way! I always get shot and I'm not gonna let you ruin my spot in the car." Buttercup complained at the assertiveness of the boy, and he turned to glance at her before responding.

"Fine. I'll just fly there." He said with a shrug, preparing to leave. Blossom put a firm hand on his shoulder to keep him grounded, and spoke just as firmly as her grip.

"Buttercup, it's only a half-hour drive to the city limits, and then we can fly home from there. Butch gets the front seat." She spoke, and when the former opened her mouth to protest, "We can't have him using his powers here in town and exposing us right now. Understood?" She just barely cast a look at her pouting sister's silent affirmation before turning her attention forward and unlocking her silver Chevvy. The driver situated herself in her seat, Butch sitting next to her and increasing her unease, despite her father's assurance at the safety. Buttercup took the seat directly behind Butch, and Bubbles convinced Boomer to take the seat between them so that they didn't have to sit together.

As they drove, Blossom fought Butch for control of the radio due to the fact that he kept cranking the volume up and switching the channel to screeching heavy metal. Boomer shifted uncomfortably between a fidgeting ball of rage and a cuddly emotional time-bomb. He thought about all of the things that he'd rather be doing at that moment, and throwing himself out of the moving car was at the very top. The silence in the car was unnerving for all of them, save for Butch, who didn't quite care what was going on with anyone, and for Bubbles, who had fallen asleep after the day's exhaustion. His heart pumped more quickly than usual at both the female touch and the innocence of it, but he tried to ignore it and wait until they got there to move her.

When the car finally stopped and the key in the ignition rotated to turn off the engine, everyone all but leapt out of the car. Boomer reached over the sleeping girl and opened the door.

"What should I do about this?" He asked, not realizing that the innocent one was him. Buttercup fought the urge to laugh at this, because she still couldn't let her guard down around the boys who had brutally tormented them as children. Blossom tried to maintain her composure as she spoke words that she had to force out of her mouth.

"It will slow me down if I carry her, could you?" Boomer dropped his gaze to Bubbles' sleeping face, her mouth slightly agape, her eyes gently fluttering, and her blonde hair messy and finding its way onto her face. He then switched his line of sight to meet Blossom's pink eyes.

"Uh…I don't think-" He started, but was cut off by his brother coming around to their side of the car and reaching toward Bubbles.

"Yo man, I got it." Boomer wrapped his arms around her protectively, and swept her out of the car past Butch's outstretched arms.

"It's not that big of a hassle. I can carry her." He spoke, suddenly confident. Butch exhaled a small chuckle and zoomed into the air. Blossom and Buttercup followed suit, side-by-side soaring through the air, while Boomer carrying Bubbles trailed a small distance behind him. Carrying her didn't slow him down, but he didn't want the girls to feel bad for not being as competent flying. After all, they were out of practice.

In his arms the small presence stirred slightly, and he looked forward, a blush creeping across his cheeks. She mumbled something in Spanish in her sleep, and he wondered what she was dreaming about.

* * *

When she heard his heart speed up she had cracked an eye open to catch a quick look at his blushing face.

"Que precioso." Bubbles murmured, feigning sleep even though she had been woken up by the flight. It wouldn't take them long to arrive at Townsville, so she could last that long without giggling.

She hadn't expected to see him, any of them, really ever again. And so far, for her at least, their presence was nothing but pleasant. Boomer had shown up exactly when she had needed someone to be there, and only directed a kind attitude toward her. She felt herself investing trust in him already, even though she knew how dangerous that could turn out to be. And there was also the fact that none of them had discussed why the boys had even come to town, why they had suddenly made a re-appearance in the girls' lives.

Still reeling about the breakup, and the fact that her own sister had apparently caused it, she made a decision to just focus on the fact that nothing bad was currently happening, and at least one person was there to support her.

* * *

"You beat up her boyfriend?" Blossom asked incredulously. Buttercup groaned.

"Yeah, but it was for her own good!" She defended. The wiser of the two giggled slightly.

"So that's why you landed in detention...well, I can't say I disagree with you, but you can't really blame her for being mad. You forced Jake to break up with her, there's no getting around it." She groaned again, knowing her sister was right about what she had done. But all the same, she continued to dispute.

"But…but Blossom," she started, turning her head slightly to check the conscious status of the subject matter before continuing. She lowered her voice and said, "if you knew what he said about her you'd…"

"But I don't. And I don't want to. And even if I did, I'd let Bubbles make her own decisions. I know you're just looking out for her, but she can handle things on her own." As always, she spoke nothing but the wise truth. Buttercup groaned a third time as Butch began to descend, and she looked down to see City Hall in the good old City of Townsville.

"Well look at that, we're home. Race ya!" Buttercup yelled, switching topics and dashing after Butch, her light green trail melting with his dark green one. Blossom didn't even bother chasing her, Buttercup was the fastest and there was no way anyone but Butch could beat her in a race- if that. Blossom smiled as she followed them to the ground with a quick zip. At least she was trying.

* * *

The four teens landed and Boomer gently set Bubbles on her feet, to which she pretended to wake up with a quick yawn. Then, the five of them walked up to the door of the large white home, still just as pristine and polished as the last time the girls had visited. Before they had even reached the front stoop, the door swung open. Adorned in his usual attire of bright white lab coat accompanied by a dress shirt and tie, there stood Professor Utonium.

"Girls!" He exclaimed, a happy smile spreading across his face.

* * *

Okay again I wanted to add more but I put off an update for like two weeks so I'm sorry and here you go! I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter, if you do, please leave a review. If you don't, still feel free to leave a review.

P.S. Poor Boomer!

Chapter 4 coming ASAP!


	4. Chapter 4-The Professor's Assistant

I changed this chp's title and subject literally 3 different times. This is the end product, and I'm _somewhat_ happy with it.

Pairing focus chapter yay. (But not very romantic boo).

 **No new reviews this time. Boo.** **:(**

Disclaimer: I don't own PPG or characters, and this chapter contains no organic ones.

Enjoy~!

* * *

"Yo prof." Butch spoke, slipping past the Professor and into the house. Utonium let out a light chuckle.

"And you, Butch." Bubbles moved away from Boomer and leapt at the Professor, knocking him down with a full speed flying hug.

"Daddy!" She cried, calling him by the affectionate moniker she had grown used to using. At this, he laughed whole-heartedly, returning the hug to his most excitable daughter. With the assistance of Boomer, he was brought back to his feet, Bubbles still clinging to his side.

"Thank you Boomer, go ahead and grab something from the kitchen." Boomer mumbled a 'rad' and grinned as he walked off to the kitchen in search of a snack. Blossom walked up to her father, grabbing a quick hug from his free side. It was brief, and neither spoke, but it was a good, loving hug. The grumpiest of the group hung back, shoving her hands in the pockets of her skinny jeans and fidgeting, avoiding speaking.

"It's good to see you, Buttercup." The Professor tried quietly. Buttercup shot a nod in her father's direction, momentarily catching his gaze and muttering,

"Hey pops." She paused, then swept some of her pitch-black bangs out of her face and continued. "So, you called us here for a reason, right? Let's get to it." Accepting the distance of his third daughter, he gave a final squeeze to the other two and began walking toward his laboratory, the female triplets trailing behind him as he spoke.

"It's been about four years since you girls left, and as you know most of the issues that you were faced with when you were younger have either been resolved or can be dealt with by the other hero types in Townsville." The professor's laboratory had obviously been technologically updated since the last time the girls had seen it, Blossom especially noted this, examining the different security features that had been added. The professor opened a code box and input a pin that opened the heavy door to the lab, and Bubbles let out a 'woah', and spoke.

"Gee Dad, trying to keep someone out, much?" The Professor looked at his daughter and grinned, explaining himself.

"Actually, that was one of my assistant's renovations. He's more concerned about the security of my work." The girls looked at each other.

"Assistant?" Blossom asked, surprised that the professor had gotten an assistant. He had always pondered the idea, but since his last one had become a villain, nonetheless one of his daughters' greatest foes, his trust had been shaken. As they descended the steps, he turned to explain himself, but was cut off by the prior mentioned assistant coming into view, wearing his own white lab coat.

"Oh, they're here. Hello." His voice was low, and curt, but still not malicious. Even so, Blossom sprung forward, grabbing him by the shirt collar and slamming him against the nearest wall, pink trail streaking behind her briefly. An empty beaker on a nearby shelf fell and crashed to the floor from the impact. Her glare pierced his red eyes, and he simply sat limp in her grasp, making no attempt to look anywhere but directly at her.

"I don't know what kind of plan you're hatching, but this is too far. How dare you bring the Professor into this? In our house! This is too much…" She nearly yelled, her voice angry and uncontrolled, she was clearly prepared to start swinging, although phased by his lack of response. His reprieve came in the form of Bubbles, bringing Blossom into a firm hug and pulling her off of the steadily apathetic boy.

"Blossom, be rational. There's clearly a good reason that the boys are back*, shouldn't we listen to what our dad has to say about it?" The angry girl was snapped back into reality by her mediating sister's surplus of reasonability in the situation. Her muscles relaxed and they both descended from their hover and placed their feet on the ground, Bubbles releasing the restrictive grasp. The Professor, loosening his black-tied collar at his discomfort, took this as a cue to speak.

"After a rather unfortunate series of events took place here, the boys moved in and Brick became my assistant." A quiet Buttercup used this opportunity to pose a very important, albeit incredibly hostile, question.

"What kind of unfortunate event would make you want to let these lifelong convicts live in our house? And you even let one of the monkeys play with your lab equipment? Are you serious?" Her tone increased in aggression and disbelief with every word, clearly still not understanding why this was happening. The Professor looked somewhat sadly at the ground and the feeling in the air changed from resonating anger to an uncomfortable tension. Buttercup looked around, wondering what she had said to set off yet another situation. Brick straightened up his ruffled lab coat, and ran a hand through the back of his hair, fixing the kinks that the wall had stirred up. After he had made himself neater, he spoke once more.

"It's alright Professor." His sentence started off with a glance at the middle-aged man, and then he redirected at the person posing the question out loud.

"We came to live with the Professor after our father died."

Buttercup's jaw nearly dropped, and all three of the girls looked at Brick with awestruck expressions. The silence continued for a few moments before Bubbles spoke, almost sad when she asked the question of,

"Mojo is…dead?" Brick gave a curt nod and then spoke once more as he moved slowly past the girls and the Professor and made his way up the stairs.

"Please excuse me for now." All the three girls could do was stare after him, shocked at the information that had just been brought to their attention. Bubbles was too surprised to even cry at the idea of death, which would usually set her off into a bawling fit in an instant.

* * *

"When Mojo was exposed to the radiation of one of his experiments his health began to decline. Once he realized that his illness was most likely terminal, he called for my presence." The Professor walked over to a lab table and messed with some beakers, creating a minor chemical reaction that turned some liquid a purple color. "He told me that he didn't want the boys having to fend for themselves, and the only person that he could trust with his children was me. You can imagine my surprise, Mojo Jojo asking me to take in the Rowdyruff boys." He let out a bitterly reminiscent chuckle. "I think that was the first time that they had actually followed instructions. So they came to live with me. It was a strangely good timing for it, since you girls had left about six months earlier. They slowly came to accept the new situation, and their behavior improved drastically as time went on. The citizens even jokingly started calling them 'The Rowdypuff Boys', and to their disdain, it stuck." The professor laughed, remembering all the time that it had taken for the boys to become established in the city as do-gooders. Buttercup, having already shaken off Mojo's death, was now faced with another apparent truth.

"So…the mayor, the city. You. You _replaced_ us." She spoke, a hurt undertone revealing itself within her constantly angry voice. The Professor turned to her, shocked at the accusation.

"Buttercup…" He started, but she wouldn't hear his explanations.

"This is bullshit." She said, turning and running up the stairs.

"Buttercup!" Blossom shouted, zooming after her. Bubbles looked at the Professor, eyes wide, and a hurt expression as though she had been caught in a bear trap. She frowned and lowered her head before starting after both of her sisters. The Professor sighed and mixed another concoction, hoping that this uncomfortable incident would soon pass as the mixture started bubbling.

* * *

As Blossom reached the living room, she hovered near the couch. The door was open and Buttercup had most likely zoomed off at a rate she couldn't match to who-knows-where. She sighed as Bubbles came up behind her.

"You should go find her." Blossom spoke, landing to be on equal ground with the blonde. In return, she let out a rare scoff, and crossed her arms. At the refusal, Blossom cast a glance at her sister; it was a silent order, a declaration from the leader. Bubbles groaned and flew out the door and into the sky.

"Ugh." Blossom mumbled, tossing herself backward onto the couch and covering her face with both of her hands. When she removed them, she was face-to-face with Butch, hovering and horizontally facing her. His black Princeton fade cut was accompanied by several piercings in his left ear, and he had another one in his bottom lip. She momentarily examined him as he looked at her with his dark green eyes. When she realized how close to her he was, though, she screamed and rolled off of the couch, which made him laugh and clutch his stomach as he made himself upright.

"Butch!" Blossom yelled at him, sitting up.

"My bad, Red, er- I guess you're more pink. Like cotton candy. Yum-" As Butch's flirting escalated, and he leaned toward Blossom, he was knocked to his feet by a closed fist to his head.

"That's enough sexual harassment for today, Butch." Brick's voice continued to be nothing besides professional and sophisticated, something that his counterpart didn't believe he was even capable of. His brother clutched his head where he had been hit and whined.

"Dude, that hurts like a bitch!" He spoke, followed immediately by both Blossom and Brick saying, respectively,

"Watch your language." and "Bite your tongue."

The two looked at each other, no longer paying attention to the upset brother's mock pleas for assistance. Suddenly, Brick grabbed Blossom by the wrist and pulled her in the direction of the East wing of the house, which she noticed had been further expanded.

"Hey…wait!" She called at him, to which he ignored. She heard Butch click his tongue and let out and envious 'dude…', and rolled her eyes. They approached a closed room with a sign clumsily stuck on the front that read 'Caution: Do Not Enter!'. Brick opened the door and pulled Blossom inside, shutting it behind him as they went. Faced in the room, she looked around at the different decorations. A few ribbons of excellence recognition, straight A report cards, a desk littered with different papers and plans, a shelf lined with beakers and his signature baseball cap resting on one of them. It was a fairly typical room for a teenage geek. Blossom was surprised at how normal her duplicate's bedroom was; if she had walked into it without him she would believe it was anyone else's. The bed creaked as he sat down on it and stared at her, motioning for her to take the seat at the desk.

"So ask." He spoke as she carefully pulled it out and sat down. She looked at him, confused, with her guard still up.

"Excuse me?" She responded. He let out a breath.

"Since you got here you've been wanting to know what's happening. After you found out about Mojo you wanted to know more, but you didn't want to ask. I'll answer whatever questions you like, so ask." His voice was strangely calm and peaceful, she almost found it relaxing.

"Why did the Professor make you his assistant?" She asked, dipping a toe in the conversation.

"He wanted help, and with you gone I'm the smartest person in Townsville, uncontested. But what you really want to know is why I became his assistant." Blossom looked and him and scowled, muttering,

"Presumptuous."

"Am I wrong?" He asked, never breaking his eye contact with her as the conversation continued. She looked at her hands and fiddled with her thumbs, begrudgingly shaking her head as a 'no'. He sighed.

"Mojo used us as tools from the day we were created. Our purposes were to destroy you three, as well as anything else that stood in his way. When Him had control of us, these purposes were intensified, and we were even more destructive. The Powerpuff Girls destroyed Him, and we regained our original mindsets, however after that you three left, and Mojo decided he needed us here. Butch was the strong-arm, Boomer was surveillance and I was the brains." She thought back on the events leading up to Him's downfall and cringed, but Brick went on.

"For a little while, it worked well, and our crime spree got Mojo whatever he wanted. But not long after he was messing with a pretty potent anesthetic, and it didn't work out as he planned. He got sick. Even as Mojo, as…our father was dying, he never once treated us like his family. The only person he'd let see him was the Professor. I figured there must be something to it, something he understood that I didn't. And since what Mojo wanted was for us to go live with him, he must have seen him as an important factor somehow."

"So you're using him." She concluded, gripping the sides of the chair to prevent her from getting angry and doing something irrational. Brick shook his head.

"I'm learning from him. I realized that it may have been the one decent thing my father ever did for us, was send us here. The Professor actually treated us like people, he looked past the fact that we were weapons, let us figure out what we wanted. We didn't grow up like you girls, and I noticed how good it was for Boomer to get an actual education, and for Butch to let out his aggression and hyperactivity. And he made me his assistant. Not his lackey. It was refreshing." Blossom looked at him and noticed that he let a small grin slip onto his face as he spoke of her father.

"So how did you all start fighting crime instead of causing it?" She asked, easing her grip off of the chair.

"The first time was because the Professor got kidnapped, and we just compulsively went after him. And when we did that, the townspeople just started relying on us for things, and we got used to it." She looked at him, taking in all the new information she had just received. With a deep inhale, she stood.

"You seem genuine enough, but I don't buy it. Maybe you're not as pointlessly evil, but people don't just change." Brick's tone didn't change at all at Blossom's harsh words and he continued speaking to her.

"I understand how you would be skeptical. But Blossom, there's something you have to know. The real reason the Professor had us all gather here. You won't like it." She turned the doorknob and paused upon his words, slightly looking back at him to receive his explanation.

"Utonium wanted us to have a similar experience as you three in being exposed to a normal life, so for the remainder of the school year, he wrote up the paperwork for us to be enrolled in East Ridge High School." Blossom brought her free hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose in frustration, knowing exactly what her dad was thinking when he made that decision.

"He wants us to be your babysitters." She spoke, exiting. This was of course met by the person in question reaching the top of the stairs as she walked out.

"I'd prefer that you referred to it as coaching them." He said.

"Hey Red! How about some health coaching?" Butch called to her with a laugh. The Professor let out a naïve chuckle.

"Good to see you interested in nutrition, Butch!" Blossom groaned and wondered how her father could be so oblivious to everything that happened around him.

"Dad, this is ridiculous. You can't expect us to-" Her protests were interrupted by the Professor's stern voice making an appearance to instruct her.

"It's already been arranged, like it or not. The boys will be attending East Ridge, and that's final. As a favor to me, you girls will help them adjust. Understood?" Frustrated even further, Blossom reluctantly answered her father.

"Understood…"

* * *

Eh. I blame this chapter not being super great on the fact that I have the flu and I'm writing through a Nyquil haze.

I hope you guys liked it a little bit though.

 **Please review** , every bit of feedback improves the story. Thank you for reading!


	5. Chapter 5-Visiting Townsville (Pt 1)

Okay guys, a week later and _still_ have the flu. Yeah, I'm really sick. Ugh. But I think this chapter will be okayish.

I felt I should probably address a few questions I was inboxed about the story, so let's just get right to that!

Q1: "In the last chapter you said that Mojo Jojo was dead, how?"

A: Kiri's Science-y Corner- Okay, so there's a fan theory out there that Chemical X creations or modified beings are immortal due to the effects of Chemical X. Although this was disproved by the death of the late fourth sister of the PPG, Bunny, some people still hold on to the fact that they may be immortal merely due to their advanced regenerative powers that allow them to take on an extreme amount of damage. If this is so, given Mojo's old age, matched with the fact that he exposed himself to a potent poison (of sorts), his regeneration skills weren't enough to keep him from death.

Q2: "Why is Brick so nerdy?"

A: LOL. I figured someone would think that. While he is highly intelligent and I even referred to him (via Blossom's perspective) as a 'geek', this is just one side of him. Don't worry, he is definitely a masculine cool dude, you've just yet to see it. There's more to him than there seems to be.

So guys please keep reviewing and feel free to start fronting questions to my new ask, 'linked' in my profile, okay?

 **Sami97** \- You are so rad, dude. Thank you. Seriously means a lot. I hope you dig this chapter.

I don't own the PPGs or RRBs, or any affiliated characters. I only own the writing, and some organic characters (not included in this chapter).

* * *

Bubbles scanned the nearby rooftops as she streaked blue across the night air. She checked out all the places that the three of them hung out when they were kids: the park, outside the doughnut shop, Malph's run-down market. Eventually, she made her way to Pokey Oaks, and saw her sister sitting on a rooftop that overlooked the school, that had earlier been converted to a k-12. There was now a skate park in the expanded yard, and Buttercup stared down at it. She approached her sister slowly and touched down on the rooftop.

"You remember when I first learned to skate?" Buttercup spoke as her sister settled down a short distance away from her, gaze still resting on the schoolyard.

"Sure. You demanded that Mitch teach you, and then the moment he let you fall on your face, Blossom punched him in the stomach and gave him that huge lecture on being responsible." She said, remembering. Buttercup ran a hand through her jet-black hair, fingers gently dragging strands of it backward and out of her face.

"Yeah. She really cared a lot more back then. Everyone did." Her face was somber, and Bubbles gawked at her.

"Why…do you always do that?" Buttercup turned to look at her sister, who spoke with a shaky voice, but for once had dry eyes.

"Wh-"

"You always project your feelings onto everyone else. You're lonely, so everyone else should be lonely. You're mad, so you want to make other people mad too. You don't care about anything, so all of the sudden you think that nobody else cares about you. It's awful!"

"You think I don't care?" Buttercup spat. Bubbles' anger turned to shock as she listened to her sister. "You think I want you to be lonely? The only reason I even wasted my time intimidating that idiot ex of yours was because he was using you! I was protecting you from your own poor taste…you don't even realize that he wanted you as a fucking trophy. A notch in his belt. You get it, Bubbles? It was all a lie, all of it." The blonde sat, processing information as her blue eyes scanned her sister's face. Her voice broke as she replied.

"I thought…" She started, as Buttercup's expression softened. "I thought he loved me." Sympathy washed over her and she got up to go to the side of her saddened companion. She awkwardly wrapped an arm around her.

"Guys like that, ya know...they don't really love anybody but themselves. You deserve somebody that doesn't add you to their competition. Look, I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted to help and that's how I know how." Her words were met by Bubbles jumping onto her, pulling her into a hug. Her awkwardness continued as she pat her sister's back, mumbling,

"Uh…yeah. So we should go home."

* * *

Butch was lounging on the couch, controller in hand when the door opened and slammed shut. He lazily looked over his shoulder; button-mashing so he didn't have to pause the game he was playing. He saw Buttercup briefly before she dashed upstairs, but Bubbles walked over to the back of the couch, resting her elbows on the back of it and her head in her hands.

"If you do a jump and slash combo right here you'll get a pretty quick K.O." She instructed, pointing a finger at the screen and then returning to her perch. He did as he was told and was surprised when the screen flashed 'K.O.' and 'You Win' in sequence and then faded to the title screen.

"I didn't know you were a gamer." He said, turning to face her. She looked exhausted, her eyes didn't have the same sparkle that they had earlier. She shifted her gaze to read the clock on the wall, and then back to him.

"I'm not." She said, shaking her head. "But I've watched Buttercup play this game enough that I know most of the moves. It's midnight, you should head to sleep." She moved around the couch and sunk into it as she sat down. He laughed.

"This early? Nah. What're you gonna do?"

She extended her hand for the remote. "I was thinking of watching a movie." He set the controller down on the end table, exchanging it for the remote and handing it to her. He started to get up, but settled back down before he spoke again.

"Some chick flick?" She nodded in response, flipping to the movie application on the television. "Can I make fun of it?" He continued.

She shrugged. "Only if you're funny." They looked at each other and smiled. "Oh, and only if you make popcorn."

His smile dropped and he pouted, defeated by her blue eyes. Hands raised in surrender, he headed to the kitchen to do the blonde one's bidding.

He grabbed a bag out of the pantry and tore the plastic off. "So, how's twinsie? She still pissy?" The microwave beeped as he input the commands.

"Buttercup? Don't call her that, it sounds creepy." Some previews clicked on to the television. "She's fine. But if you're worried…"

"Pass." He interjected, not wanting to poke a sleeping bear. The opening credits rolled and he leaned over the counter to try to catch a glimpse.

"Hey-hey, pause it, will ya?" Bubbles laughed.

"Nope! But if you put extra butter on the popcorn I'll catch you up on what you missed." Butch gawked at her.

"Damn. You're an evil little thing." Another laugh. "Okay, alright. But if I miss anything hilarious I'm putting hot sauce on the popcorn." The microwave screeched.

"You know, you really remind me of someone." She said as Butch came back with a bowl loaded with popcorn and flopped onto the couch.

He raised a brow and smirked. "Wow, really? Wonder who that could be." A kernel of popcorn was tossed in her direction and she dodged.

She exaggerated a laugh. "Whatever, it's why I like you." He looked over at her and thought for a minute. She was like Boomer but more talkative, and true to her name, more bubbly. He tossed a throw pillow onto her lap and followed it in flopping down; popcorn spilled on the carpet.

"Okay, so see this girl here? She just walked in on her boyfriend cheating in _her_ apartment." Butch let out a laugh which was followed by a flick to the head.

"Not funny! That's totally awful."

"Well, sure, dude's a scumbag. But come on, you've gotta see something like that com-" A tear dripped into his ear.

"Not always." She whispered, letting herself cry for the first time since they had gotten to Townsville. Butch nearly cringed at the act.

"Uh…pigtails. C'mon. Don't do that." She broke a smile laced with the salty tears.

"I just feel bad for her." Butch exhaled and turned to launch an attack of tickling on his movie-watching companion. She couldn't contain her laughter as her tears turned from bitter to sweet. Pleas for him to stop barely made it out of her mouth as she laughed, missing the next few minutes of the movie. After a little while, he stopped, drawing both of their attention back to the movie.

"Look, if you're gonna feel bad for her, feel bad because she dresses like that. I mean, who wears that much neon?" Bubbles guffawed.

"Oh my god, are you a girl?" Her usual politeness cracked and she teased him ruthlessly. He knocked the back of his head into her stomach lightly.

"Hey shut up. I just know what I like my ladies in, and it sure as hell ain't that." She laughed and continued to tease him, but all-in-all he was just glad that she had stopped crying.

* * *

"I'm just not sure about this. Are you sure that they're ready? It will be a brand new environment for the boys and we don't even know how they're going to get along with the girls…"

The two adults of the household approached the central living room, listening to the television prompting the viewer to play the movie again; music sounding an annoying tune on loop.

"I believe they'll get along quite alright." The Professor remarked, noticing the two teens on the couch. Bubbles was half-curled in a sitting position, her head falling to the side; Butch snored from his comfortable position with his head resting on a pillow on top of her lap, legs splayed out in front of him and half of his body slumped over the side of the couch. Frankly speaking, they both looked adorable.

"I didn't even know that these two could stand each other." The Professor's wife spoke.

Utonium laughed. "Spend enough time with Buttercup and you develop a soft spot for the rough ones." He reached over to shake Butch but his wife stopped his hand.

"Oh Cookie don't wake them. I don't think I've seen Butch this peaceful…well, ever!" She whispered with enthusiasm at her husband, pulling him away from the sleeping figures.

"Well, I suppose…" He spoke, his fatherly instincts wanting to remove his daughter as soon as possible. "But I do have concerns."

"Concerns? Whatever about?" They made their way to the master bedroom, arms interlinked while the Professor rubbed a temple with his free hand. He looked lovingly at his wife, easing his worries almost instantly.

"Nothing, dear. Nevermind." Mrs. Utonium knew there was something that he wasn't disclosing to her, she was far from an ignorant woman; she decided to go along with his dismissal.

"They'll all be fine. I believe in them." Her voice wavered, and the Professor couldn't tell if she was trying to convince him or herself. In actuality, they both had their doubts. Still, they were all old enough to figure out how to get along. Or destroy each other.

* * *

"Hey, sleeping beauty. Get up." Butch snored as Boomer loomed over him. Frustrated, he grabbed his brother by the shirt, twisting it within his fist and pulling it toward him. Butch opened one eye and firmly gripped his brother's arm.

"The fuck is your problem?" He growled in a whisper. Boomer scoffed.

"My problem is your habits with women. Get up." Bubbles stirred and Butch turned to look at her, making sure she was still asleep.

"Aye, shut up. You wanna wake her up? Get offa me." Boomer released his grip with a huff and backed up, making sure not to move his glare. Obediently his brother got up and shoved him away from the couch and into the kitchen, where Boomer looked around him to catch a glance at still sleeping Bubbles.

"I didn't do anything." He said simply. At Boomer's look, he continued. "Forreal! No tricks or anything. Look at her, does it really look like I did anything? We crashed watching some lame movie, that's all. Don't get your panties in a bunch." He visually eased.

"Since when are you two friends anyway?" He asked, pouring himself some cereal.

"Last night I guess. Since when are you her guard dog?"

Boomer poured milk into his cereal. "She's just…fragile, dude." He stuffed his face and spoke as he chewed, slightly spraying milk droplets onto the counter. "She's been like that since we were kids. Plus we owe the Professor enough to watch out for them."

 _Fucking liar._ Butch thought, internally laughing. "Whatever dude, I'm not gonna hurt her. She's kinda cool to chill with anyway. And she's a babe, too." He winked as he teased his brother, exiting toward his bedroom. Boomer coughed as he choked on his cereal, ultimately spitting it into the bowl.

"…Butch?" Bubbles asked sluggishly.

"Uh…no." He replied, setting his spoon in the now ruined bowl of cereal.

"Oh, Boomer. Good morning!" Her peppiness returned and she made her way over to him. He quickly wiped off his mouth with the back of his arm and smiled.

"Mornin'. Did I wake you?"

"No, this is roundabout when I usually get up." She politely lied. Boomer let out a sigh of relief. "Uhm…about yesterday,"

He awkwardly cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Well, I'm sorry. I've never been very good at handling stuff like that." Her words were accompanied by an embarrassed smile.

His response was accidentally tactless. "You mean people breaking your heart?" She was shocked, but then let out an uncharacteristic laugh at the comment. He flushed.

"Yeah…stuff like that." Tears came to her eyes, but they were from laughter instead of sadness, which made Boomer laugh too. They made small talk about little things, about school and everything, which predominantly consisted of Bubbles' giggling rundown of the teachers to try to avoid and the people to try not to.

"Don't worry Boomer, I'll make sure you all get a good tour of the building." Blossom entered, in fresh clothes that clearly weren't hers. A sweater adorned with an embroidered cat in the corner, and some brown leggings. Her black ballet flats were the same, but her hair was tied into a bun with her signature red ribbon. Boomer snickered as quietly as possible, covering his mouth and turning away.

Bubbles giggled openly and called out to her missing sister. "Buttercup!" Her laughter continued. Buttercup reluctantly made her way down the hall, scratching her scalp and looking toward Bubbles with only one eye partially open.

"Shut up you banshee- OH MY GOD." She joined her sister in laughter as her eyes shot open upon catching a glance at Blossom, hers roaring as she clutched her stomach. "What are you wearing?!"

"Blossom are those mom's?" Blossom blushed and tucked the strands of hair she had left out behind her ear.

"Well I couldn't really wear the same clothes I wore yesterday, could I?" Bubbles just continued to laugh and Buttercup rolled her eyes. Boomer suppressed his laughter and spoke to her.

"I think you look nice, Blossom." This incited another round of roaring laughter from Buttercup and Blossom crossed her arms.

"Thank you Boomer." She managed the courtesy through her teeth as she huffed out the front door. The lab door swung open shortly after, dragging on the carpet. The three of them looked toward him as he entered, looking around slightly.

"Hey don't worry, she just left." Buttercup informed him. Brick closed the lab door behind him and locked it.

"I'm not avoiding her." He spoke, inputting the lock code.

"Sure you're not. You were just doing pressing research in the lab. By yourself. All night."

"And you just happened to finish said 'pressing research' as soon as Blossom left."

"And you're a fucking liar." Buttercup smirked as the attention in the room went to her. "I mean c'mon, he hid in the lab." She shrugged.

"Your leader isn't quite comfortable with me as of yet." He looked at the two PowerPuffs who both avoided his glance. "Well, she's less comfortable than the rest of you."

* * *

"Blossom!" The familiar voice made Blossom's lips curve into a smile; she turned in the direction of it. Her small and skinny figure was dressed up in jeans and a fairly generic t-shirt and her brunette locks fell around her face; bangs framing it in the same way they always had. Her blue eyes were met with an elated smile, and Blossom quickly floated over to her, wrapping her in a hug.

"Robin!"

"Mrs. Utonium told me you guys would be coming to visit!" Robin beamed.

"You've sure gotten used to calling her that." Blossom replied, surprised to hear the formality. Her friend laughed.

"Well, when she reminds you every day, it's hard not to." She grinned sympathetically, remembering how her former teacher could get when she wanted to get a point across. Pulling the conversation back in a circle, she drew from the first thing that Robin had said.

"Can I assume you know why we're here?"

"About the boys and moving and all that? Yeah. I asked Brick about it." She was surprised again when Robin said that she had talked to the Rowdy leader. Shy little Robin was comfortable talking to a villain? Ex-villain, that is.

"So Robin-" Robin waved a hand to stop her sentence.

"Uhm, Blossom? I have work right now but is it okay if we have a sleepover tonight? Since you're in town? I thought it would be fun to have all four of us hang out again. It's…been a while." They smiled at each other. Blossom was relieved that Robin had seemingly remained the same throughout the time she had known her. Since they left it seemed as though her entire world had been flipped upside-down and she was the only one still walking with her feet on the ground.

"Of course!"

They hugged again and Robin ran over to her purple bike, mounting it and riding away with a final smile and wave. Her improved mood distracted her from whatever her original goal had been, so she set off in the direction of town, looking down as she placed one foot in front of the other, staying grounded.

* * *

Later in the day, Buttercup made her way to the Townsville City Jail to visit a familiar face. Or, a few, as the case may be. She showed up at the gates, newly reinforced with extra security and amped up tech (most likely Brick's handiwork). A guard walked up to her with a hand extended.

"Sorry girly, no entrance into the Prison." The hood of her sweatshirt rested a little above her eyes, casting a shadow across the top of her face. She moved it, however, to get the guard's attention.

"Reconsider." The guard examined her for a moment before taking a shocked step backward.

"Buttercup! Of course, my apologies." He stepped aside and nodded her in, and she walked past him, pausing before she opened the doors. She turned her head slightly so that he could hear her.

"Hey, keep this on the low, alright?" The guard nodded hastily at her words.

"You were never here."

When she got inside, she didn't need a GPS to know that her destination was straight ahead, because that's where the cell she was looking for was. She passed a few shocked glances and even a pair of angry mumblings of 'bitch', but she wasn't particularly focused on anyone else.

He pulled his shades down to lock eyes with her, grinning as she walked up. "Well well well, look at what the cat dragged in." He was sitting in a chair in his cell, and she grabbed a stray one as she walked, pulling it with her as she went, and then settling into it when she reached him.

"You're looking rough, Ace. Is that a grey hair I see?" He laughed, if you could call it that. The years of smoking had turned both his voice hoarse and his laugh into more of an exhausted wheeze of air. It was hard to believe that he was only around 30, time hadn't been kind to him.

"Wish I could say the same, but…" His voice trailed as he ogled her. "If only you'd lose the baggy clothes." He stared at her sweatshirt, apparently attempting to hone his hidden x-ray powers in that moment. To his displeasure, it had no such effect. She snapped, drawing his attention back up to her eyes in the cliché way that women did.

"Yeah yeah, pervert. I need some info." His grin returned.

"Again? And what's my reward for this information?" Buttercup returned his facial expression.

"Let's start with me not stringing you up on the city sign from your greasy mane."

He laughed through his nose. "Babe, it's like you're just using me." She rolled her eyes.

"Just tell me everything you know about the RowdyRuff Boys." This got his attention, and he nearly dropped his sarcastic demeanor.

"They were always a pain in my ass, but hey, points for style. But when the monkey kicked it, they were the new you three. There's the leader, he's an in-tell-lectual. The dumb one, and the crazy fella."

"Brick, Boomer, and Butch." She clarified.

"Yeah…that's it. They do stuff for people. Old ladies crossin' streets and saving little kitties from trees and all that. That's what I know." Buttercup, frustrated with the lack of information, got up and reached through the bars, grabbing the green-tinted criminal by the collar of his prison jumper and slamming his face against the rusted metal bars.

"You make it your job to know things about everyone. I want strengths, weaknesses, what they do when they're not playing Mayor's pet. Give me something or I'll hold you underwater in the lake until you grow gills. Her eyes glazed over with a green glow and she grit her teeth, threatening him with both her words and her glare. Fear flickered in his eyes.

"Jeez, that new town of yours made you hard. Okay, okay." She eased him off of the bars. "The dumb one is, well. Falls for anything you throw at him. Puppies, flowers, worms, a leaf fallin' offa tree. He's so happy I wanna puke. Psycho is all about the ladies and the parties; he may be a good guy but he ain't much of a good guy, not that I'm an expert on that. Hah. All you gotta do for him is push him a little bit, and he'll jump right off the edge. As for the leader, your guess is as good as mine. Dude's a mystery. Digs chicks like his bro, plays with chemicals like his pops, lives under the Mayor's thumb. But there's something about him, I can't pin it." He plead with Buttercup using those same, scared eyes. "That's really all I know. Lemme go."

She released him, got up, and took a few steps back toward the entrance. The convicts chattered, some of them trying to get her attention, some trying their hardest to avoid being caught by it. She stopped dead in her tracks as Ace spoke again.

"See you soon, Butterfly."

She turned, grabbed the wooden chair she had previously been sitting in, and hurled it toward the man in the cage. Splinters flew everywhere, some lodging themselves within the skin of the target of her anger. He stumbled into a wall, grunting in pain.

"Don't you _ever_ fucking call me that _again_." She spit in his direction, then turned and walked out of a now silent prison corridor.

* * *

I'm so sorry for the late release guys. No excuses, but things have been C-R-A-Z-Y, and to top it off I just got my power back on after a day and a half.

This chapter is kind eh. Mildly okay, imo. But you might like it? I had a lot of fun beginning to write in Robin, she always struck me as adorable.

I had a lot of trouble with certain character interactions, so that was a little iffy to me. I dunno, tell me what you think in a review.

 **Q: So how about that cute friendship between Butch and Bubbles? Aw.**

Leave me any questions on my , and feel free to inbox me if you want. If I make any exceptional spelling errors, please let me know, I probably didn't notice. Most of this chapter was written at like 3am, so. **_Please review~! Next chapter expected September 5_** ** _th_** ** _._**


End file.
